Olena Bilosiuk

Olena Bilosiuk, born Olena Pidhrushna on January 9, 1987, in Legnica, Poland, spent her childhood near Ternopil, Ukraine. Her early career in biathlon began at the 2005 European Youth Olympic Winter Festival in Monthey, Switzerland, where she earned two bronze medals. She made her Biathlon World Cup debut on March 2, 2007, finishing 44th in a sprint in Lahti, Finland. After missing the 2007-08 season for international competitions, Olena returned in the 2008-09 season as a regular member of the relay team, securing a victory with her team in Oberhof, Germany, on January 7, 2009. She represented Ukraine at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, with her best individual result being 12th in the mass start.

The 2012-13 season marked a significant period of success for Olena. She achieved a third-place finish in the Östersund sprint on December 1, 2012, and a second-place finish in the pursuit in Antholz-Anterselva in January 2013. A major highlight of her career was at the 2013 Biathlon World Championships, where she won a gold medal in the sprint, a silver medal as part of the women’s relay team, and a bronze medal in the pursuit. These achievements led to her being named Ukraine’s best sportswoman of 2013, and she finished 8th in the World Cup general classification for that season. During the 2013-14 season, she earned another podium finish in January and, notably, won a gold medal in the Women’s relay at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, alongside Juliya Dzhyma, Valj Semerenko, and Vita Semerenko.

Following the 2013-14 season, Olena took a break from her sports career and was appointed Deputy Minister of Youth and Sports in the Ukrainian government. She returned to competition in the 2015-16 season, beginning with two bronze medals in sprint and individual races in Östersund, Sweden. In mid-February of that season, she won a sprint in Canmore, Canada, and achieved her career-best World Cup ranking of 7th overall. She was selected to carry the Ukrainian flag at the opening ceremony of the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, although she did not compete due to physical conditions. Olena continued to compete, participating in the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing as part of the 7th-place women’s relay team and serving as the flagbearer for the closing ceremony. Her career includes 1 Olympic medal, 6 World Championship medals, and 25 World Cup podium finishes.